Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Comparison Of Two Minorities: New Zealand Maoris And Australian Aborigines, Janet Noel Regan

Honors Papers

The most obvious contrast between these two minorities is their relative size; the Maoris represent 10% of the total population of New Zealand while the Aborigines, account for .6% of the total Australian population. These figures are significant: in that they influence the power and resources available to both minorities in their struggles against the dominant majorities. The Maoris are at an advantage because their size is more impressive.

The impact of European contact on the original Maori and Aboriginal cultures points to many similarities and several basic differences. The cultures of both societies, as detailed earlier, had developed into …